Brussels, 06/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The new trio of Presidencies of the Council of the EU (Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta) have made a commitment to support gender equality during their respective mandates. The day after it took office, the new Dutch Presidency published a joint declaration on Tuesday 5 January that was adopted during the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Council on 7 December last.
The declaration emphasises that equality of gender is a necessary condition for growth, prosperity, well-being and integration and outlines a range of different action (conferences, discussions, priorities, etc.) in this connection due to take place by June 2017. It also advocates a dual approach, namely, including gender questions through the integration of a gender perspective in all policy areas, as well as specific measures. The text is co-signed by the Dutch Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Lodewijk Asscher, the Maltese Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumers and Civil Liberties, Helena Dalli and the Slovak Secretary of State for Labour, Social Affairs and the Family, Branislav Ondrus.
No surprises on question of quotas for women. As we could have expected in this perspective, the trio has not made much of a concerted commitment on the issue of quotas of women on the boards of directors in major European companies, which is currently blocked at the Council, by countries such as the Netherlands and Slovakia (see EUROPE 11447). The text highlights “the need to facilitate reconciliation between work, family and private life in view of enabling women and men to participate in the labour market, as well as in all other spheres of life and at all levels of society, including decision-making posts”. It does not go any further than this, however. Malta was alone in explicitly committing to carrying out discussions with member states, the Commission and the Parliament, in view of pushing forward the controversial draft directive. It should be pointed out that this text is suggesting a quota of 40% of women for non-executive posts on the boards of directors in major European companies. It would like companies quoted on the stock exchange to introduce transparent recruitment procedures by 2020 in an effort to guarantee, on the basis of equal merit, the taking into account of the underrepresented gender in question.
Priorities and conferences. Despite misgivings from the Commission, the trio of Presidencies is calling for a new gender equality strategy. It is also calling for better implementation of existing directives on equal treatment. It highlights the problem of the feminisation of poverty and gender-related stereotypes and emphasises the role of gender equality as a means of stimulating economic competitiveness.
With regard to their respective commitments:
- The Netherlands will be organising a high-level group meeting on the question of gender in Amsterdam on 21-22 January 2016. It will also be proposing Council conclusions in response to the Commission's strategic initiative on gender equality and will explore the possibilities of a response linked to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender (and intersex) people LGBT(I).
- Slovakia will organise a high-level meeting on gender inclusion on 7-8 September this year in Bratislava, as well as a conference on the reconciliation of professional, family and private life in a society in full throes of evolution but as yet a date has not yet been decided. It is also committed to facilitating discussions, if needs be, on the future legislative proposal to reconcile the private and professional life of parents.
- Malta is committed to making the issue of violence against women a priority. It will be organising an event on sharing good practices and exchanging information on legislation, policy and existing strategies, as well as statistical data and studies on this subject. It will also continue with work on the issue of quotas for women, LGBTI and the new Commission initiative on post-2015 equality. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)